Poetry
Call Me Snake By William Heyen
“Call Me Snake” is separated into three different sections. They are “Competition,” “Romance” and “The Football Corporations.” I’m always one that reads the Table of Contents (TOC) to see what’s in store for me as a reader. Unique and I can’t wait to see what he does with this are two thoughts that come to mind with this new collection by Heyen.
The Music of this Ruin By Patricia Barone
This new collection of poetry by Patricia Barone is divided into three sections: The Aviary, The Listeners, and The Glorified Body. The opening poem sets the tone for each section.
Sipping Tea & Bullfrog Songs By Baidha Dominique Fercoq
There are 9 sections in this recent poetry collection by Fercoq. The book is a mixture of prose and poems. The prose and poetry compliment each other and often flow from one to the other in a seamless fluid presentation.
footsteps in the garden by Bob MacKenzie
Bob MacKenzie starts off his new poetry book with these lines: “in battered stetson and old jeans /he recalls the time of legends” from the poem “an american dream.” His use of sparse language gives you just what you need just like this poem lets you know his style of writing poems right up front.
The Binding Dance By William Pruitt
Like in his poem “Magic and Community,” William Pruitt’s poems in this new poetry collection give out a magical vibe. Pruitt writes in a contemporary prose with almost conversational like poems. He’s able to juxtapose his lines bouncing between subjects such as Original Sin, Darwin, cardinals and sparrows all in one poem.
Slow Phoenix By Michael Favala Goldman
What a pleasurable opening line: “Soft words crumble on the page.” The next lines to follow are: “commaclink / periodmumble / babbleclamor / the man’s giftgrumble.” This first poem lets the reader know this poetry collection might not be like any others you’ve read before and that’s a good thing.
Illegal Beagle by Sandra Ourique Gonsalves
A Beagle, quite confident in himself who aspires to have a crown on his head is shown as the leading character in the latest Gonsalves’ storybook Illegal Beagle illustrated by Nelli Aghekyan. This illuminating chapbook is most suitable for those kids who look up to new humorous characters daily.
The Five and Dime Store of Eternity By Sean Lause
Sean Lause fills the pages in this new poetry collection with deeply personal poems. The poems are introspective and thoughtful. The visuals, the images he presents are perfectly crafted, but will zing right through your heart and give you pause.
THE INTERRUPTED SKY by David Lawrence
This is from Esther Cameron of "The Deronda Review" -- We don't generally do book reviews at The Deronda Review, as otherwise we'd be besieged with requests for such, but this being special, I'm willing to post the above on our homepage, along with a link to your publisher before 9/11 and send out an alert by email. if you want to put it to another use meantime, feel free. If you do use it, I request that you use it in its entirety, leaving nothing out. "David Lawrence is the poet as pugilist. He is not polite. I do not like everything he says. But he says some true things that many others are too polite to say.
A Raga for George Harrison by Sharmagne Leland St.-John (2020) Reviewed by Rebecca Foster
Native American poet Sharmagne Leland St.-John’s fifth collection is a nostalgic and bittersweet look at people and places from one’s past. There are multiple elegies for public figures – everyone from Janis Joplin to Virginia Woolf – as well as for some who aren’t household names but have important stories that should be commemorated, like Hector Pieterson, a 12-year-old boy killed during the Soweto Uprising for protesting enforced teaching of Afrikaans in South Africa in 1976.